Airbrush Nail Art

These are examples of nail designs done using an airbrush tool. These designs are common in nail salons, and tend to be faster and easier to do than hand painted designs.

Hand painted nail art

There are different types of nail art. It can be done by hand with brushes such as the ones below. It can also be done using an airbrush tool. More money is usally charged for hand painted designs since they take more time and effort. Decals, glitter, rhienstones and even feathers can be added to a design to spruce it up.

Lactol Manicure Procedure

Lactol (Hot Oil) Manicure

Supplies:
Buffer block
Emery board
Polish remover
Cotton
Orangewood stick
Basecoat, topcoat, nail polish
Cuticle nippers
Cuticle pusher
Hot towel
Lactol heater filled w/ lotion or oil

Procedure:
1)Remove polish of left hand.
2)File and buff nails of hand.
3)Put left hand in lactol heater.
4)Repeat steps 1-2 for right hand.
5)Take left hand out of lactol heater and put right hand in.
6)Massage left hand and arm.
7)Take right hand out of lactol.
8)Massage right hand and arm.
9)Put lotion on cuticles of all ten nails.
10)Use lotion to push and nip nails.
11)Use hot towel to remove excess lotion from hands and arms.
12)Clean surface and under free edge of nails with cotton tipped orangewood stick.
13)Apply 1 coat basecoat, 2-3 coats polish, and 1 coat topcoat to all ten nails.

Pink and White Procedure

Pink and White Acrylics

Supplies:
Pink and white acrylic powders, and acrylic liquid - all made by same company.
Polish remover
Lint free nail wipes (use in place of cotton)
Buffer block
Nail dehydrator
Nail primer (if necessary)
Nail forms
Coarse file
Acrylic brush
Three way buffer

Procedure:
1)Remove polish from all nails.
2)Buff nails to remove shine.
4)Apply nail forms.
5)Use nail dehydrator (be careful not to touch nails after applying or you will have to do it again).
6)Apply primer to nails (if necessary)
7)Create free edge of nails with white acrylic.
8)Fill in rest of nail with pink acrylic.
9)Wait for nails to dry (they are dry if they make a clicking sound when tapped).
10)File nails into desired shape (ex. Square, round, oval, Squoval).
11)Smooth nails with buffer block.
12)Shine with three way buffer.

Note: Pink and white acrylics can also be used an an overlay on tips. Apply tips to all nails then follow steps 5-12.

Tip Procedure

Tip Application

Supplies:
Tips
Tip cutter
Nail glue
Coarse file
Buffer block
Polish remover
cotton

Procedure:
1)Remove polish of all nails.
2)File off free edge of nails.
3)Buff nails to remove shine.
4)Determine tip sizes for nails.
5)Put glue in well of tip and attach to nail. (Obviously repeat for all ten nails.)
6)Using coarse file, file tips down until they blend with natural nail.
7)Using tip cutter, trim tips down to desired size.

Note: tips by themselves are a TEMPORARY service. In order for them to stay for on an extended period of time, you must apply one the following overlays:
Acrylic (clear, pink and white)
Fabric (linen, silk, fiberglass)

Fabric Overlay Procedure

Fabric Overlay

Supplies:
Quick dry nail glue
Fabric of your choice (ex: linen, fiberglass, silk)
Fabric scissors
Three way buffer
Buffer block

Procedure:
1)Apply tips to all ten nails (recommended if you have shorter nails. See tip application for procedure.)
2)Cut and size fabric (including 1/8 inch stress strips for fiberglass) for all ten nails.
3)Apply stress strips (for fiberglass) with one drop of glue.
4)Put one drop of glue on nail and apply fabric.
5)Use drops of glue to completely saturate fabric without flooding cuticles with glue.
6)Allow glue to dry then apply at least 3 more coats of glue (waiting briefly between each other).
7)When glue is completely dry, use buffer block to smooth fabric and remove any imperfections.
8)Use three way buffer to shine.

Note: Nail polish is not needed to finish a fabric overlays (with the exception of linen since it is opaque).